Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Clean Slate

I know I'm late, seeing as April started twelve days ago, but I'm calling this week a fresh start. Things were hard; they're steadily getting better.

My kids are starting their research unit, which is simultaneously my favorite and least favorite time of year. I love watching them delve into a topic of their choice. It's a chance for them to genuinely enjoy exploring their curiosity and learning new things; I hate the micromanaging that has to happen in order to get them all to the finished product without plagiarizing or giving up.

It's a stressful unit for all of us.

My students are so used to being told what to lookup and what to learn that brainstorming and thinking up their own ideas is the hardest part. Once they get started, they actually usually enjoy the research process! It's really gratifying to see.

Elizabeth and I have been motivating each other into a little overhaul of our habits this week. I don't have a car at the moment (another reason for my stress these past couple weeks), so I'm dependent on her for rides to and from school...which means that if she holds me hostage after work to do a T25 workout, then I'm obliged to stay.

Feeling some good endorphins after T25 in Elizabeth's classroom.

It also means I can't drive to a starting place of my choice to run, but tonight I finally looked that excuse in the eye and went out our back door to the golf course for the first time in months.

Keeping each other accountable.

Also new this week: I finished a really good book (Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. The sequel was okay and I'm not sure I'll read the concluding novel, but the first was seriously amazing) and I've been listening to Halsey's "Gasoline" nonstop.

I also replenished my wardrobe with some new Skirt Sports gear, so I'm excited to have a chance to wear it. Nothing motivates me to workout like new clothes.

I got two Lioness skirts (in Free Love and Safari), a Peek-a-Boo skirt in Safari, a Take Five tank in Gray Stardust and an Eclipse tank (in Free Love - I'm wearing it in Safari in the T25 pic above). I'm totally set for summer running!

Finally, I want to say thanks for your kind words on my last post. The worst has (hopefully) passed regarding the school issues. I'm finally feeling a little more normal; I was feeling pretty hollow and distant there for awhile. Like it was taking all my energy just to exist. I do think I've turned a corner. Now it's just about working to stay on the right path.

What have you been listening to lately?What was/is your favorite project in school?Are you getting any new gear for summer running?ABK

15 comments:

Well if I was in your class I would totally be writing about serial killers. I read all kinds of books about them. I guess I get more interested in the INVESTIGATION aspect. I can't even imagine trying to get 8th graders to 1. write the paper without plagiarizing or 2. giving up. I taught 8th grade English for half a semester... when I was 22. I got emergency certified. When my students wrote papers, they were all plagiarized. I just would type their first sentence into google and BOOM there it was. So they weren't even good at it. And I wasn't even a good teacher because I didn't warn them at ALL about plagiarizing! You know, because I wasn't a real English teacher. :) Oh well we all survived and now I am where I belong- in a music classroom!

I think I'm to blame for so many kids choosing that topic this year. Last year one student did serial killers and I remembered that the paper was good, so when I was listing past projects to give the students examples, that was one I brought up.

The next thing I knew, 7 kids had chosen the topic! But at least they're all picking different serial killers!

I AM getting new running gear for summer because it appears that all of my current running gear is falling apart! Two of my favorite pairs of capris got tears in them last week and I've realized several of my running bras just don't provide the support they used to. For the first time ever I placed an order for new running gear on Amazon - a box should be arriving today! Yay! BTW Under Armour is so weird with their Amazon shop. Some of their stuff is available with free shipping via Prime and some of it isn't!

I love your lioness skirts. Do you know I still haven't worn the Skirt Sports skirt I purchased weeks ago? I realized I only wear skirts when I race and I don't have a race scheduled again until the fall! :-O

Your new clothes are so cute!! I always like to get some new running clothes to give me a little extra push out the door. I'll probably get an outfit or two just before I start training for Chicago.

I like that project. I would have liked researching my own stuff in English class. To be completely honest, English was always my least favorite subject and I would generally just withdraw in class and not do very well. I would have liked picking out something with some direct historical reference instead of just fiction.

New clothes are such good motivation to get moving...they make me feel so fast!

In our curriculum we touch on memoir, historical fiction, and classic fiction, so we hopefully get to read a little something for everyone! I do love this project though, because it's so nice to see the kids exhibit passion for learning for once.

Aww, I think I would have liked that project! English (we called it "language arts") was always my favorite subject. And I never would have plagiarized, either - I actually enjoyed writing! In 8th grade I was going through my SNL-obsession phase and I'm sure I would have picked something having to do with the history of the show or comedians or comedy writing or something.

I just LOVE that tiger print lionness skirt. I've been so tempted to get it many times, but, my running clothes drawer is overflowing and I just really don't need any more, especially bottoms. Maybe this summer, if I can still get it online, I can use it as one of my treats for getting out the door in the off season :-)

So until recently, we had "reading" and "language arts". Florida just changed that to "ELA" (English Language Arts) which covers the entire gamut. It's really just a change in coding and some standards, but I like it because it makes grading easier.

The Safari print is my favorite. I've been eyeballing it for MONTHS and finally pulled the trigger!

Interesting to hear some of the topics they picked! Yay for new running clothes! Very cute! I've also bought some summer things, but it's back into the 30s in the mornings so I haven't worn them yet. Can't wait for summer weather so I can!

I think we all have those moments we feel disengaged- it's normal. It's good to see that you've turned a corner and are working on refreshing your mindset. Sometimes life stress can get you down in a ton of ways and it kind of spills over into other parts of your life. And new workout clothes totally motivate me to work out! Maybe that's what I need to get out of my running funk ;-)